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Air / Cortex / Economy first / OBSERVED BUILD

Whirlwind bomber rush

Cortex Air build order · Supreme Isthmus

After the usual economy start, the player commits early (by 5:07) to T1 Whirlwind bombers that push forward and fight in the enemy base well before the role's norm, a clear forward plan rather than a reaction.

Usually transports first (67%)

#air #rush #raid · 72 distinct matches · 31 players · 3% of Cortex Air games · team won 56% of 72 · Recently observed

THE CATCH, AND WHAT COMES WITH IT
  • WhirlwindT1 air bombers from 5:13 · 6% of role by thenFrom the Aircraft Plant. Only 6% of Air games have it by then; others who build it get it around 11:03
  • WhirlwindWhirlwind in 42%3% of all Air games by then

Where those units first fight, in 70 games with kill data: in the middle 51%, in the enemy base 47%.

Those units destroy a typical 1,122 metal of enemy units by 15:00.

Then transitions into valiant (49% of army).

HOW TO PLAY IT

Key timing: Aircraft Plant by 1:28

  1. Build Aircraft Plant immediately instead of the usual later timing.
  2. Commit to Whirlwind bombers well before the role norm of 10:48.
  3. Send Whirlwinds forward to fight in middle and enemy base.
  4. Reclaim the Aircraft Plant once the rush has paid off.
  5. Build Fusion Reactor to transition back into team support.

Phase by phase

TYPICAL OF ITS 72 GAMES · AGAINST STANDARD AIR
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
PLAY THE OPENING

Follow the example game's first 6:14 step by step: what to build now, what comes next, and where it goes. At 1× it keeps pace with your own game.

  1. 1

    Up to the Aircraft Plant

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor3Mex
    • Wind Turbine4Wind
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plant after 3 mex, 4 winddone ~1:14, middle half 1:05–1:29

    By 0:56 in all: 3 mex · 4 wind

    The example game in this phase · 4 steps
    1. Mex ×2
    2. Wind
    3. Solar
    4. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 0:54 · typical 1:14
  2. 2

    Aircraft Plant to T1 air bombers

    Economy
    • Metal Extractor1Mex
    • Wind Turbine10Wind
    • Wind Turbine3Wind
    • Energy Storage1Energy storage
    Order
    1. WhirlwindT1 air bombers after 3 mex, 13 wind, 3 wind
    Builders
    • Construction Turret2 Con turret
    • Construction Aircraft1 Con aircraft
    Army
    • Valiant4 Valiant −2 vs standard
    • Hercules2 Light transport for allies
    • Finch2 Finch for allies
    • Finch1 Finch

    Some games also: converter (49%) · heavy transport for allies (46%) · light transport (42%) · shuriken (38%) · mex (38%)

    By 5:10 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 13 wind · 3 wind · 1 energy storage · 2 con turret

    The example game in this phase · 67 steps
    1. FinchFinchfor Geo sea
    2. ShurikenShuriken
    3. Wind ×3
    4. HerculesLight transport
    5. FinchFinch
    6. Mex
    7. HerculesLight transportfor Tech
    8. Wind
    9. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    10. ValiantValiant
    11. Con turret
    12. Mex
    13. Wind ×3
    14. ValiantValiant
    15. Wind
    16. Wind
    17. Energy storage
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind ×2
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Con turret
    23. Wind
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. Wind
    26. Wind ×3
    27. Wind
    28. Wind ×2
    29. Wind
    30. Wind
    31. Converter ×2
    32. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plantreclaimed for its metal
    33. Wind
    34. Converter ×2
    35. Wind
    36. Converter ×2
    37. Wind ×2
    38. Con turret
    39. Converter
    40. Wind
    41. Converter
    42. Wind
    43. Converter
    44. Wind
    45. Converter
    46. Wind
    47. Wind
    48. Wind
    49. Converter
    50. Wind
    51. Wind
    52. Wind
    53. Wind
    54. Wind
    55. Wind
    56. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mexdone 6:19 · typical 6:55
    57. Wind
    58. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    59. Wind
    60. Wind
    61. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    62. Wind
    63. Wind
    64. Aircraft PlantAircraft Plantdone 7:11
    65. Wind
    66. Construction AircraftCon aircraft
    67. WhirlwindWhirlwinddone 7:33
  3. 3

    T1 air bombers to 10:00

    Economy
    • Wind Turbine14Wind−6 vs standard
    • Wind Turbine5Wind
    • Energy Converter3Converter−3 vs standard
    Order
    1. Aircraft PlantEat Aircraft Plant
    Builders
    • Construction Turret1 Con turret −2 vs standard
    Army
    • Valiant8 Valiant
    • Whirlwind5 Whirlwind +5 vs standard

    Some games also: light transport for allies (36%) · Aircraft Plant (36%) · finch (36%) · con turret (32%)

    By 10:00 in all: 3 mex · 1 mex · 28 wind (standard 20) · 24 wind · 8 converter · 1 energy storage

    The example game in this phase · 67 steps
    1. Con turret
    2. Advanced Metal ExtractorT2 mex
    3. Con turret
    4. Wind
    5. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    6. Wind
    7. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    8. ShurikenShuriken
    9. Wind
    10. ShurikenShuriken ×2
    11. HerculesLight transportfor Front
    12. ShurikenShuriken ×6
    13. Wind
    14. ShurikenShuriken
    15. Wind
    16. ValiantValiant ×6
    17. Wind
    18. ValiantValiant
    19. Con turret
    20. Wind ×2
    21. ValiantValiant
    22. Wind
    23. Advanced solar
    24. ValiantValiant
    25. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    26. Wind
    27. WhirlwindWhirlwind ×2
    28. Wind
    29. Wind
    30. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    31. Wind
    32. Wind
    33. Advanced solar
    34. WhirlwindWhirlwind
    35. Wind
    36. Wind
    37. ValiantValiant
    38. Wind
    39. ValiantValiant
    40. Wind
    41. ValiantValiant
    42. Wind
    43. Advanced solar
    44. ValiantValiant ×2
    45. Wind
    46. Wind
    47. ValiantValiant ×2
    48. Wind
    49. Advanced solar
    50. ValiantValiant
    51. Wind
    52. ValiantValiant ×2
    53. Wind
    54. Wind
    55. ValiantValiant
    56. Wind
    57. ValiantValiant
    58. SentrySentry
    59. ValiantValiant
    60. Wind
    61. ValiantValiant ×2
    62. GuardGuard
    63. ValiantValiant ×2
    64. Wind
    65. ValiantValiant ×5
    66. Wind
    67. ValiantValiant

Counts are medians over the build's games: half of them build more, half fewer. The example game is Milkdragon's (32 OS, 22/09/2026); pick another.

Team trades

IN AT LEAST 30% OF ITS GAMES

You hand over

  • Finch2 Finch to Geo sea or Beach seafirst at 1:45 · in 90% of games
  • Hercules3 Light transport to Tech or Geo sea or Geofirst at 2:12 · in 97% of games
  • Hephaestus1 Heavy transport to Beach sea or Techfirst at 2:17 · in 54% of games

You get

  • Wind Turbine2 Wind from Beach sea or Tech or Geo seafirst at 1:34 · in 40% of games
  • Wind Turbine3 Wind from Beach sea or Geo seafirst at 1:41 · in 64% of games
  • Construction Bot1 Con bot from Techfirst at 2:15 · in 89% of games
  • Advanced Construction Bot1 T2 con bot from Techfirst at 6:01 · in 93% of games

How it plays out

Typical game of this build against the role’s standard build, running totals by minute

  • This build
  • Standard air

Metal produced

010k20k30k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Enemy metal destroyed

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

Own metal lost

02k4k
0:005:0010:0015:00

metal

72 games.

Show as table
ByMetal produced: This buildMetal produced: Standard airEnemy metal destroyed: This buildEnemy metal destroyed: Standard airOwn metal lost: This buildOwn metal lost: Standard air
1:003893920000
2:009199230000
3:00144714560000
4:0020422053005151
5:00277227630517473
6:0037483715108102183124
7:0050905089190146254167
8:0067776904247190389219
9:0088669291317230533271
10:001144811771467292738384
11:0013863143959103731305538
12:00160341707812945172045781
13:001879319859174078123871115
14:0022061227002206126931021689
15:0025268257293164183136212440
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

Won more often than the standard build despite destroying less enemy metal early and losing more by 10:00.

  • + Destroys more enemy metal than standard by 15:00 (2779 vs 2089).
  • + Won more often than the Air role's standard build.
  • − Destroys nothing by 5:00, well behind standard's 73.
  • − Own losses by 10:00 nearly double the standard build's.
THE EXAMPLE YOU ARE READING

Milkdragon

31.7 OS · 22/09/2026

Open source match ↗

3 received units · includes a constructor
82 metal received · 49086 energy received

Allied construction assistance is unknown. Timings are observations, not a promise of solo reproducibility.

Typical milestones

Aircraft Plant1:14Middle 50%: 1:05–1:29 · n=72
Advanced Metal Extractor6:55Middle 50%: 6:29–7:45 · n=67
Fusion Reactor11:24Middle 50%: 10:18–12:35 · n=42

Played most by

Milkdragon15games of this buildpownage22711games of this buildhaaven8games of this buildkrtf4games of this buildHerbiderpi3games of this build